Rosalind Medea

Last month saw the release of a new documentary film, Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande, which highlights the case of the Black British jazz-funk band formed in the early 70s in South London, who along with the dove as their symbol, “brought together a common love of rhythms and a message of peace”. The group found fame in the US but at home they were known mainly in rare groove circles. I was first introduced to Cymande indirectly through an ear for early hip hop – a break from Cymande’s Bra has been sampled prolifically by numerous hip hop artists. I wasn’t born when Cymande came on the scene, but I have witnessed what they went through with other British bands and artists not gaining recognition on home turf.

What is going on in this instance is not just indicative of the music industry. In truth it’s about acknowledging what we have on our own doorstep. How many times have you stuck your nose up at something that has been presented to you by your higher mind in favour of something else? Something that doesn’t belong to you, something less than, something bland and formulaic? There are some really amazing things that we discover when we are open to our higher minds. I have lost count of the number of times I’ve found some really great music that to the “human” eye “wasn’t easily accessible”. My higher mind has never had to hunt that music down, it just came in thick and fast because truthfully it was calling out to me. All I’ve ever had to do was to be open to what was being communicated to me. Acknowledging what we have and what has been staring us in the face all this time waiting too to be recognised, acknowledged and accepted is something that we all must actively do. And it starts with knowing who you are and fully opening up to the bounty within you because it is your inner world where that which is staring at you in the face in the physical is also a part of and has its roots.